Genetic Trade-Offs and the Lek Paradox

University Of Kansas Center For Research Inc, Lawrence KS

Investigators

Abstract

Processes of sexual selection include competition, generally between males, and mate choice, typically by females. In the latter, discriminating females may obtain from males 1) direct, material benefits that influence their survival and fecundity and/or 2) indirect, genetic benefits that are only expressed in the subsequent generation. Female choice based on genetic benefits requires that genetic variance for the chosen male character(s), and the female preference, exist, but the directional selection imposed by female choice should eliminate such variance. To determine how this paradox may be resolved in natural populations, the investigator will study mating behavior of the lesser waxmoth, a species in which males attract females with an ultrasonic advertisement signal. Previous studies demonstrated substantial genetic variance for the male signal and suggested that a genetic tradeoff exists between signal attractiveness and development rate. The current project will use inbred lines and quantitative genetic techniques to evaluate the extent of this tradeoff and how it may maintain genetic variance in male attractiveness. This study will contribute to our basic knowledge of acoustic signaling and perception and how these behaviors are related to life history and development. Moreover, analyses of the inbred lines will reveal the genetic relationships between sexual and developmental traits and how genetic correlation may influence the expression of behavior and its variation.